Organisation cites abuse by security forces, including rape of male detainees
The UN has added Israel and Russia to a blacklist for sexual violence in conflict, citing abuse by security forces including rape of male detainees. .
The UN verified sexual abuse of 31 Palestinian men, women and children from the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank between 2023 and 2025. Israeli attacks included repeated gang-rapes and the use of sexual violence as a form of torture, the report said.
Continue reading...Opposition says constitutional amendment would give bill ruling party carte blanche to overturn will of voters
Amid fierce criticism from opposition groups, Mexico’s senate has passed a constitutional amendment to include “foreign interference” as grounds to annul election results in the country.
The bill, which was presented by the country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, defines foreign interference as “illicit financing, propaganda, the systematic dissemination of misinformation, digital manipulation, and the intervention of foreign governments or agencies”.
Continue reading...Tehran denies deal has been reached that would open strait of Hormuz and eliminate country’s nuclear programme
Donald Trump has claimed he could approve an Iran peace deal on Friday that contains major concessions from Tehran, including the opening of the strait of Hormuz and the elimination of the country’s nuclear programme. However, top Iranian officials signalled a final agreement had not been reached.
The two versions indicate Trump may once again be practising his “art of the deal” as he seeks to talk his way out of a war that has disrupted global energy supplies and rocked the world economy.
Continue reading...The 15-week-old triplets get their first swimming lesson from their mum, Bonita, and dad, Manu. The two boys, Uca and Yali, are named after an area of the Amazon rainforest and the second largest region in Peru. The female pup is named Yara, which means ‘river spirit’ in Brazilian folklore. Endangered giant otters face an uncertain future as conservationists estimate that only a few thousand remain across South America. The pups have been born as part of the international conservation breeding programme in European zoos that is working to safeguard them from extinction
Continue reading...As Donald Trump looks for peace with Iran, Benjamin Netanyahu’s government escalates elsewhere – and Europe stands by
“He’ll do whatever I want him to do,” said Donald Trump, addressing his discussions with Benjamin Netanyahu over their illegal war on Iran. The US president said on Friday that he was making his final determination on a deal – of sorts – with Tehran. As chief ally, funder and arms supplier for Israel, the US can rein in its prime minister. But with his hands tied on Iran, Mr Netanyahu seems bent on rekindling war elsewhere. Israel’s brutal escalation in Lebanon may be an attempt to gain ground while it can, or perhaps to destabilise the Iran peace initiative. The prospects for Gaza are grimmer.
As Mr Trump talks up a new peace deal in the Middle East, Mr Netanyahu is trashing Mr Trump’s last effort. Israel this week killed another Hamas military chief, but this war has failed in its stated aim of destroying the group, while visiting untold horror on civilians. Israeli forces have expanded far beyond the half of territory they agreed to hold, attack Palestinians in an undefined zone around their positions and carry out airstrikes deeper into Gaza. Yet Nickolay Mladenov, the top diplomat for the Trump-appointed Board of Peace, has blamed Hamas for the stalling of the purported ceasefire. Now Mr Netanyahu says he has ordered the military to take control of 70% of Gaza. That would force more than 2 million Palestinians into less than a third of what was already overcrowded territory.
Continue reading...The first mistake was appointing the peer despite his links to Jeffrey Epstein. The next would be claiming his security risks were properly managed
It is telling that the person who first floated the idea of Peter Mandelson as the next UK ambassador to America was probably himself. He seems to have looked at his global contacts and thought: this is why I’m useful. Whitehall’s security vetters, UKSV, looked at the same contacts and thought: this is why he’s not. The latest revelations illustrate something rotten about modern politics. What the wealthy and connected think makes them an asset is exactly what makes them a risk.
In late 2024, Lord Mandelson was announced as the UK’s ambassador to Washington by Sir Keir Starmer. That posting ended in disgrace last year after US files exposed the depth of his links to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But UKSV advised against giving security clearance to Lord Mandelson, flagging concerns over links to China’s finance minister, a sanctioned Russian oligarch, a former Israeli military intelligence chief and a British individual described as potentially compromising, as well as a £1m loan connected to an Israeli startup investment.
Continue reading...Former DUP leader’s barrister said woman was mistaken in linking letter to his alleged sex offences
Jeffrey Donaldson told a woman who has accused him of sexual assault that he regretted inflicting “hurt, pain and distress”, but his comments were not related to the allegations, a court has heard.
A lawyer for the former MP and Democratic Unionist party leader told Newry crown court on Friday that Donaldson’s letter to the alleged victim had “nothing to do” with her accusations of sexual abuse and referred to other behaviour.
Continue reading...Nato has vowed to ‘defend every inch’ of its territory after a Russian drone hit an apartment building in Romania. The strike prompted swift condemnation and threats of repercussion from European leaders. So is there a risk the war could expand beyond Ukraine? Lucy Hough speaks to senior international correspondent Peter Beaumont
Continue reading...He insists he is so right but gets so much badly wrong, not least the absurdity that the UK should have joined Donald Trump in the quagmire that is Iran
Give the man credit. Tony Blair has achieved a goal that even a week ago seemed impossible, and which he scarcely managed in office: he has brought the Labour party together in sweet, harmonious unity. Thanks to him, Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting and the man they hope to replace, Keir Starmer, are singing in unison, joined in a chorus of denunciation – of one T Blair.
Give the triple election-winner further credit. This is a political professional who still knows how to command the news cycle. Cannily timing the release of his nearly 6,000-word essay on the future of Britain, and the failings of Labour, to coincide with the parliamentary recess, he secured for himself massive coverage across all platforms over several days.
Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist
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Continue reading...Kuss completes grand tour stage win trilogy
Vingegaard stays 4min 3sec clear of Gall in the GC
Teammates Sepp Kuss and Jonas Vingegaard dominated the high mountains for Visma-Lease a Bike on Friday as the former claimed a historic solo victory on stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia, and the latter firmly defended his overall lead.
By winning the brutal mountain stage atop Piani di Pezzè in the Dolomites, Kuss became the 116th rider to complete the Grand Tour stage victory trilogy, with the American adding an Italian success to wins at the Tour de France in 2021 and the Vuelta a España in 2019 and 2023.
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Alexandra van Huffelen, koningin van D66 en de Radboud Universiteit, wordt keihard aangevallen door boze oud-bestuurders van de universiteit. Vijf van hen (MANNEN) ondertekenden zeldzaam genoeg een open brief waarin de kritiek op haar bestuursstijl niet mals is: "De sterke neiging tot centraliseren en uniformeren door het huidige bestuur past wellicht bij de aansturing van een ministerie, maar niet bij een universiteit. Ook de inzet van consultants en beleidsadviseurs is een ministerieel virus waartegen een doeltreffend vaccin dringend gewenst is." Dictatortrekjes dus. Nu komt het erop aan hoe Van Huffelen, die inderdaad bekendstaat om de ijzeren hand waarmee ze de pallie-opstanden neersloeg, een schrikbewind jegens zielige studentjes en om haar pioniersrol als Twitterverlater voordat het cool was, zal terugslaan. Ze wil niet (nergens) reageren op de aanval, die zich toespitst op het ontbreken van 'de menselijke maat'. O wat zal ze zinnen op wraak. Dit wordt oorlog. En die menselijke maat zullen de klagers ongetwijfeld lekker bij de Zeeman moeten zoeken.
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Infinite Jeffs is an actual physical book you can buy in which “every one of the ~550,000 words in Infinite Jest [is replaced] with ‘Jeff’ while preserving punctuation, line breaks, etc.”
